It can be earned, for example, by a government that turns out to be as
committed as I am to ensuring that Canberra is not turned by this Assembly into
some laboratory for radical social change. I make no apology for holding what
some people here might regard as conservative views - views that I prefer to
describe as traditional Christian values. I am proud of my Catholicism and my
Christianity and I am guided by their teachings. I believe in the importance
of stable family life. I am committed to the sanctity of human life, whether
it be unborn or elderly. I will have nothing whatsoever to do with
legalisation of abortion and euthanasia. Sorry, Michael.

I can be fairly tolerant of people's weirdness; but, like most of the
people I am here to represent, I am less so when it comes to the protection of
my family and my neighbourhood. Thus I am deeply troubled by the message that
is sent to the young by the advocacy of some in this place for the Government
itself to provide illegal drugs to those addicted to them. I am fearful of the
consequences that would flow from such an unwise policy, fearful of the example
provided to children by a government prepared to replace the pusher with a
prescription. I will do everything in my power to stop the national capital
becoming a magnet for the nation's heroin addicted and would feel obliged to
withdraw my support from a government that supported such an experiment. I
will fully support a government with the courage to tackle the real problems -
trying to break the cycles of behaviour that lead to the dysfunctional families
from which so many of the social problems like addiction flow. The government
I will respect is the government that recognises the need to devote the time,
effort and necessary resources if prevention is to become the best solution to
all kinds of drug use in our society.

For myself, Mr Speaker, I can see no point in being a member of parliament
should remaining one require the sacrifice of my Christian principles and
convictions. I do not intend to make any such sacrifice. I am confident that
the people of Brindabella, even those with different values from mine, will
have enough wisdom in three years' time to reward my honesty and decide that
one good term deserves another. I am conscious of the responsibility that has
been entrusted to me. I am conscious, too, of the difficulty of the task of
government. I know that not all decisions made here in the Assembly will turn
out to be the right ones. As the Mayor of Chicago, Richard Daley, once said:

Look at my Lord's disciples. One denied him, one doubted him and one betrayed
him. If our Lord couldn't have perfection, how are you going to have it in
city government?

Mr Speaker, I, like you, can but promise to strive to get as close to
perfection as a humble disciple can.

MS TUCKER (8.27): Mr Speaker, it is an honour to be standing here today
as a newly elected ACT Greens member for Molonglo, representing the diversity
of voices that make up the green movement. My involvement in politics is a
result of my paid and voluntary community work over many years. Most recently,
I was employed by the Canberra and South-East Region Environment Centre to work
in the library and edit the Bogong magazine. In that job, I was
confronted every day with the magnitude of the problems that face us. It
became increasingly obvious to me that the many individuals and non-government
organisations working for change needed to have better representation